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Federation Chronicles #4
Mesmerized
They call him the Shadow. Andrei Solace delivers death on silent feet as an assassin for the Phantom Corps. The perfect weapon in the fight against the Imperium, he's sent to the same 'Verse he left behind as a youth.
Piper Roundtree is a mercenary prepared for anything--except for being rescued from Imperial lackeys by the man she hasn't laid eyes on in eleven years. While she remembers every mesmerizing sensation he gave her, she thought they were through. And against the backdrop of an impending war, their passion is reignited.
The girl Andrei once loved is now a fierce woman who can pilot a ship through canyons at high speeds, and drive him wild with equal abandon. As much as Andrei tries to protect her from the darkness inside him, Piper admires his skills and the code he lives by. Now the lovers must join forces--in more ways than one--to save the Known Universe before the enemy hurls it into irreversible chaos...
Piper Roundtree is a mercenary prepared for anything--except for being rescued from Imperial lackeys by the man she hasn't laid eyes on in eleven years. While she remembers every mesmerizing sensation he gave her, she thought they were through. And against the backdrop of an impending war, their passion is reignited.
The girl Andrei once loved is now a fierce woman who can pilot a ship through canyons at high speeds, and drive him wild with equal abandon. As much as Andrei tries to protect her from the darkness inside him, Piper admires his skills and the code he lives by. Now the lovers must join forces--in more ways than one--to save the Known Universe before the enemy hurls it into irreversible chaos...
294 pages, Paperback
First published February 23, 2011
25 people are currently reading
1068 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Dane
112 books4,996 followersLauren Dane has been writing stories since she was able to use a pencil, and before that she used to tell them to people. Of course, she still talks nonstop, and through wonderful fate and good fortune, she’s now able to share what she writes with others. It’s a wonderful life!
The basics: Lauren is a mom, a partner, a best friend and a daughter. Living in the rainy but beautiful Pacific Northwest, she spends her late evenings writing like a fiend when she finally wrestles all of her kids to bed.
The basics: Lauren is a mom, a partner, a best friend and a daughter. Living in the rainy but beautiful Pacific Northwest, she spends her late evenings writing like a fiend when she finally wrestles all of her kids to bed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 5, 2012
January 2012 - I decided kick off the new year with a reread. I enjoyed this even more the second time. Piper is seriously kickass.
Dane usually writes solid characters, but these were some of her best. I adored Piper. I know I can be really hard on heroines, but she embodied everything I love in a strong female lead. Andrei was the perfect counterpoint for her. He let her keep her independence, and supported her physically and emotionally. But for all he gave, he took just as much in return. They were perfect for each other.
The violence from the Imperialists has escalated in this novel. The political aspects and war strategies were well done. I find myself fully invested in outcome of the war. I'm very anxious for the next installment of this book. The way Dane left things has me itching for more.
Dane usually writes solid characters, but these were some of her best. I adored Piper. I know I can be really hard on heroines, but she embodied everything I love in a strong female lead. Andrei was the perfect counterpoint for her. He let her keep her independence, and supported her physically and emotionally. But for all he gave, he took just as much in return. They were perfect for each other.
The violence from the Imperialists has escalated in this novel. The political aspects and war strategies were well done. I find myself fully invested in outcome of the war. I'm very anxious for the next installment of this book. The way Dane left things has me itching for more.
December 20, 2020
This is Andrei's story (who we meet in Insatiable). I thought this worked well. Piper was a strong character who doesn't take shit and she accepts, loves her family (and Andrei) just as they are. The aggression with the Imperialists has escalated into war. Nice setup for Vincenz and Julian (and Hannah was Vincenz rescued in this one).
April 11, 2011
Memorable Scenes:
- Piper and Carey discussing Andrei > loved Andrei's reaction to it, also deepened Andrei's characterization
- table smexing scene > HOT!
Andrei Solace is a Phantom Corps operative. He’s a man of few words with an explosive temper. He’s unflappable, private, defiant and honorable. Andrei intrigued me from the moment I met him in Insatiable and I am happy to see him get his HEA with a heroine that was perfect for him.
Piper Roundtree to me was a breath of fresh air, storming through the book. She’s part of a mercenary group on one of the Edge ‘Verses and stands her ground in the middle of a male dominant environment. She’s independent, fearless, tough, passionate and strong-willed.
Piper and Andrei were childhood sweethearts and after years apart, Andrei's work for the Phantom Corps brings him back to the one woman he never was able to completely get out of his mind. And Piper is reunited with the only man she ever truly loved/opened her heart to. I really loved how Lauren Dane built up the romance and sexual tension between them. Preferred that to them jumping each other the first moment they were reunited as this fit the story/characters perfectly.
The love scenes were beautiful and very sensual. They were explicit without being crude or coarse. They were just like I've grown used to from Lauren Dane. I'd go all tingly when Andrei would get all commanding and go all gooey when he would only have eyes for Piper and say sweet things to her. I adore when an author can make me fall in love with the heroines through the heroes’ eyes. Lauren Dane did exactly that with Andrei and Piper.
The secondary cast once again was excellently woven into the story. They were supporting to the romance and crucial to the plot. Speaking of the plot, every installment offers more intriguing developments and in every installment of this series plot and romance complement each other perfectly. The war brewing in the first book, UNDERCOVER, has meanwhile evolved into a full-blown war and MESMERIZED had me holding my breath waiting for casualties to fall on the side of the good guys and they do and it had me in tears.
I love the world Lauren Dane has created with this series, the 'Verses and the war/battle between the Federation and the Imperialists. New intriguing characters are introduced of which you just know you’re going to see them again in future books, and I’ve also come to care about all the former main characters in this series and I loved getting tidbits of how they are faring.
It’s no secret or surprise that I really love Lauren Dane’s writing. I haven’t read a book by her yet that has disappointed me in that aspect. Even if science fiction/futuristic romance is not your thing I'm convinced this series and MESMERIZED will be a great read. The way Lauren Dane builds the world and plot is very agreeable and she doesn't let you get lost in the world and the characters. The romance stays the main focus and the balance is excellently done.
I thoroughly enjoyed this installment and am chomping at the bit to get to read the next. Not only for the continuation of the ongoing plot but also for the fascinating romance that has its tiny beginning at the end of MESMERIZED. After finishing MESMERIZED I'm dying to read Julian and Vincenz's story even though I know it will probably knock me straight out of my comfort zone but I know it will be as enjoyable as the rest of this series.
Dane mixes the futuristic plot and the explicit sex scenes with well-drawn characters, strong emotions and subtle humor and she does this with an ease that leaves me wanting more. There is subtle humor in the smallest of remarks, this humor shone through in MESMERIZED but never took the upper hand. With every book in this series Lauren Dane entices me to continue and once again she didn't disappoint.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
- Piper and Carey discussing Andrei > loved Andrei's reaction to it, also deepened Andrei's characterization
- table smexing scene > HOT!
Andrei Solace is a Phantom Corps operative. He’s a man of few words with an explosive temper. He’s unflappable, private, defiant and honorable. Andrei intrigued me from the moment I met him in Insatiable and I am happy to see him get his HEA with a heroine that was perfect for him.
Piper Roundtree to me was a breath of fresh air, storming through the book. She’s part of a mercenary group on one of the Edge ‘Verses and stands her ground in the middle of a male dominant environment. She’s independent, fearless, tough, passionate and strong-willed.
Piper and Andrei were childhood sweethearts and after years apart, Andrei's work for the Phantom Corps brings him back to the one woman he never was able to completely get out of his mind. And Piper is reunited with the only man she ever truly loved/opened her heart to. I really loved how Lauren Dane built up the romance and sexual tension between them. Preferred that to them jumping each other the first moment they were reunited as this fit the story/characters perfectly.
The love scenes were beautiful and very sensual. They were explicit without being crude or coarse. They were just like I've grown used to from Lauren Dane. I'd go all tingly when Andrei would get all commanding and go all gooey when he would only have eyes for Piper and say sweet things to her. I adore when an author can make me fall in love with the heroines through the heroes’ eyes. Lauren Dane did exactly that with Andrei and Piper.
The secondary cast once again was excellently woven into the story. They were supporting to the romance and crucial to the plot. Speaking of the plot, every installment offers more intriguing developments and in every installment of this series plot and romance complement each other perfectly. The war brewing in the first book, UNDERCOVER, has meanwhile evolved into a full-blown war and MESMERIZED had me holding my breath waiting for casualties to fall on the side of the good guys and they do and it had me in tears.
I love the world Lauren Dane has created with this series, the 'Verses and the war/battle between the Federation and the Imperialists. New intriguing characters are introduced of which you just know you’re going to see them again in future books, and I’ve also come to care about all the former main characters in this series and I loved getting tidbits of how they are faring.
It’s no secret or surprise that I really love Lauren Dane’s writing. I haven’t read a book by her yet that has disappointed me in that aspect. Even if science fiction/futuristic romance is not your thing I'm convinced this series and MESMERIZED will be a great read. The way Lauren Dane builds the world and plot is very agreeable and she doesn't let you get lost in the world and the characters. The romance stays the main focus and the balance is excellently done.
I thoroughly enjoyed this installment and am chomping at the bit to get to read the next. Not only for the continuation of the ongoing plot but also for the fascinating romance that has its tiny beginning at the end of MESMERIZED. After finishing MESMERIZED I'm dying to read Julian and Vincenz's story even though I know it will probably knock me straight out of my comfort zone but I know it will be as enjoyable as the rest of this series.
Dane mixes the futuristic plot and the explicit sex scenes with well-drawn characters, strong emotions and subtle humor and she does this with an ease that leaves me wanting more. There is subtle humor in the smallest of remarks, this humor shone through in MESMERIZED but never took the upper hand. With every book in this series Lauren Dane entices me to continue and once again she didn't disappoint.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
February 24, 2011
4.5 stars
I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I loved the opening, which gave us insight into who Andrei is, was, and can become. I loved his camaraderie with his teammates. Loved how he cared for Piper. And like so many spec ops guys, he felt he wasn't good enough for her. But he so was! In so many little ways, he showed his love for Piper & her brothers, as well as his heroism and selflessness with his efforts to help them save their home and 'Verse.
It takes a lot for me to love a heroine. I'm particularly hard on them. Piper was a fantastic heroine, completely worthy of Andrei. She loves her family, would fight to the death to protect those she cares for. She's smart, sassy (but not irritatingly), a fast learner, and she doesn't let anyone give her shit. But at the same time that she's awesomely kickass, she's sensitive, insightful, and tender.
The history between Andrei and Piper (and her family) helped to create a believable immediate romance and to ensure the trust between them. And their total and complete acceptance of one another from the very start makes every touch, every interaction in turn tender, heartbreaking, and yet fun, exciting, and thrilling.
The only thing I didn't love about Andrei was his long hair. *shakes head* Lauren, Lauren, Lauren, why must you torment me with these long-haired heroes? Although, I must admit, that there was a fantastic reason for Andrei's long hair in this book - one that made complete sense, and fit into his character perfectly.
The story of the war between the Federation and the Imperialists heats up in this book. The suspense was terrific; it kept me on the edge of my seat. And there was the perfect blend of romance and suspense.
And at every turn, I'm reminded of what I said beginning with the very first book in the series, Undercover: the parallels to historical dialogue, terminology, and context make this series feel so comfortable to me. Dane has done an amazing job of marrying the historical to the futuristic throughout the entire series. Lovers of either genre can find so much to enjoy here.
Mesmerized was a terrific blend of family, suspense, heartbreak, and love set against a burgeoning war. Action, adventure, and romance. Awesome. Simply awesome.
But can I say? Oh, how I want Julian's book. I simply cannot wait to see what happens there.
I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I loved the opening, which gave us insight into who Andrei is, was, and can become. I loved his camaraderie with his teammates. Loved how he cared for Piper. And like so many spec ops guys, he felt he wasn't good enough for her. But he so was! In so many little ways, he showed his love for Piper & her brothers, as well as his heroism and selflessness with his efforts to help them save their home and 'Verse.
It takes a lot for me to love a heroine. I'm particularly hard on them. Piper was a fantastic heroine, completely worthy of Andrei. She loves her family, would fight to the death to protect those she cares for. She's smart, sassy (but not irritatingly), a fast learner, and she doesn't let anyone give her shit. But at the same time that she's awesomely kickass, she's sensitive, insightful, and tender.
The history between Andrei and Piper (and her family) helped to create a believable immediate romance and to ensure the trust between them. And their total and complete acceptance of one another from the very start makes every touch, every interaction in turn tender, heartbreaking, and yet fun, exciting, and thrilling.
The only thing I didn't love about Andrei was his long hair. *shakes head* Lauren, Lauren, Lauren, why must you torment me with these long-haired heroes? Although, I must admit, that there was a fantastic reason for Andrei's long hair in this book - one that made complete sense, and fit into his character perfectly.
The story of the war between the Federation and the Imperialists heats up in this book. The suspense was terrific; it kept me on the edge of my seat. And there was the perfect blend of romance and suspense.
And at every turn, I'm reminded of what I said beginning with the very first book in the series, Undercover: the parallels to historical dialogue, terminology, and context make this series feel so comfortable to me. Dane has done an amazing job of marrying the historical to the futuristic throughout the entire series. Lovers of either genre can find so much to enjoy here.
Mesmerized was a terrific blend of family, suspense, heartbreak, and love set against a burgeoning war. Action, adventure, and romance. Awesome. Simply awesome.
But can I say? Oh, how I want Julian's book. I simply cannot wait to see what happens there.
September 10, 2015
This review was posted at Under The Covers Book Blog.
Andrei... Andrei... Andrei... YOU SEXY BEAST! There is nothing I like more than a hot, intense, alpha male! And Andrei is all that and then some. Now if we could only get him to admit he has a future with Piper.
I thought Andrei was a sexy as hell in the previous book, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on his story. I enjoyed the beginning where it actually gives us a small glimpse as to how he became a part of the Phantom Corps, and where he came from.
I was not expecting, however, that this would be a story of reunited lovers. Such a contradiction for him. He's been in love with Piper from when they were both poor teenagers without much of a future. He was always the trouble maker, and this leads him to disappear from Piper, and her family's lives, pretty much without a trace.
Except he kept in contact with them throughout the years, helping them by sending them credits. With this help they were able to do something with their lives, and Piper is now a bad ass mercenary!
When the war in the 'Verses is almost upon them, and danger is escalating, Andrei is sent to investigate and gather information through the mercs, and he is put in close contact with Piper again.
Piper was such an enjoyable heroine. After the disaster (for my taste) of the last heroine in this series, I'm so glad I can say I really enjoyed Piper!
"She'd lived her life making choices. Not always the ones she wanted to make, but she'd made them and dealt with the consequences. She'd existed and survived, and on the continuum of joy and sorrow, she'd had much more of the former. Her life was filled with love. Love she'd made the deliberate choice to open her life to."
Even though he fights this all the way, he can't deny his attraction, and even his love, for Piper is still there. He was in love with the girl then, and he's still in love with the woman now. No other woman since could compare, and no woman ever will. He realizes this will always be true. But he doesn't think he has anything to offer. He's a killer, no good for her.
Except Piper has plans for them. But she's changed as well, and she can play with the big boys. In fact she shows him that she can by becoming sort of his partner in this investigation, against his better judgement.
This story is full of action, a lot is happening, attacks that are changing the future, and new information coming in.
On the other hand, Andrei and Piper are HAWT together! He's a bit of a dominant, and she lets him show her his wildest side.
"You know," Andrei spoke low as he moved his chair closer, "it's so dark back here I bet I could make you come without putting my hand in your pants."
This is my favorite book in this series now!! And let me just say the setup for the next book was very well done, and I can't wait to read it!
Andrei... Andrei... Andrei... YOU SEXY BEAST! There is nothing I like more than a hot, intense, alpha male! And Andrei is all that and then some. Now if we could only get him to admit he has a future with Piper.
I thought Andrei was a sexy as hell in the previous book, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on his story. I enjoyed the beginning where it actually gives us a small glimpse as to how he became a part of the Phantom Corps, and where he came from.
I was not expecting, however, that this would be a story of reunited lovers. Such a contradiction for him. He's been in love with Piper from when they were both poor teenagers without much of a future. He was always the trouble maker, and this leads him to disappear from Piper, and her family's lives, pretty much without a trace.
Except he kept in contact with them throughout the years, helping them by sending them credits. With this help they were able to do something with their lives, and Piper is now a bad ass mercenary!
When the war in the 'Verses is almost upon them, and danger is escalating, Andrei is sent to investigate and gather information through the mercs, and he is put in close contact with Piper again.
Piper was such an enjoyable heroine. After the disaster (for my taste) of the last heroine in this series, I'm so glad I can say I really enjoyed Piper!
"She'd lived her life making choices. Not always the ones she wanted to make, but she'd made them and dealt with the consequences. She'd existed and survived, and on the continuum of joy and sorrow, she'd had much more of the former. Her life was filled with love. Love she'd made the deliberate choice to open her life to."
Even though he fights this all the way, he can't deny his attraction, and even his love, for Piper is still there. He was in love with the girl then, and he's still in love with the woman now. No other woman since could compare, and no woman ever will. He realizes this will always be true. But he doesn't think he has anything to offer. He's a killer, no good for her.
Except Piper has plans for them. But she's changed as well, and she can play with the big boys. In fact she shows him that she can by becoming sort of his partner in this investigation, against his better judgement.
This story is full of action, a lot is happening, attacks that are changing the future, and new information coming in.
On the other hand, Andrei and Piper are HAWT together! He's a bit of a dominant, and she lets him show her his wildest side.
"You know," Andrei spoke low as he moved his chair closer, "it's so dark back here I bet I could make you come without putting my hand in your pants."
This is my favorite book in this series now!! And let me just say the setup for the next book was very well done, and I can't wait to read it!
November 26, 2017
3.5-4.0 stars
_____________________________________
Chapter 7:
Andrei stretched out on the now familiar bed and considered the problem. His cock. Since he’d first seen her, he’d constantly been hard. Twice, three times a day when he could find the time alone, he’d jerk off, imagining her cunt surrounding him, imagining her on her knees, looking up at him as she sucked his cock. Always her face, her body. Gods, the filthy things he wanted to do with her. To her. His hands shook with the effort to walk past her bedroom door each night and not stop.
Only to lie in bed, his fist around his cock, thrusting, sweating, dreaming of her and not having her.
* * *
She laughed and scrambled astride his body, rubbing herself over his cock....
He rolled them so that he was on top, teasing her with his cock as he pinned her. And again, she found her hands over her head as he held them tight in a firm but gentle grip. This time there was no hesitation in him when she struggled.
Piper found herself outrageously wet as he teased her with his cock. He nibbled down the line of her neck and across her collarbone, pausing to lick and kiss the hollow of her throat. His free hand moved to her nipple, where he worked some sort of magic with the way he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, twisting and pulling it just exactly right. Keeping that edge.
“What is it you said you wanted?” he murmured, kissing the underside of her jaw, still teasing her with the head of his cock. Just barely entering her before sliding it up and over her clit and then back to her gate again.
“You know what I want.” She managed not to pant, but it was a close thing.
“Yes. Do you know what I want?”
Oh. Gods, she nearly came when he brushed his cock against her again, just from the realization. He wanted her to beg for it, meant to tease her and then make her beg. It shouldn’t make her hot. It shouldn’t make her whimper.
But it did.
“Please put your cock inside me. Please fuck me.”
And he was slowly pushing into her as he let go of her wrists and angled himself to his haunches. He grabbed her ankles and pushed them up and then slid that iron grip up to her knees to spread her wide, her ass resting on his thighs as he began to thrust.
Her position allowed for little movement; he controlled the entire process, and she couldn’t seem to get enough. He was overwhelmingly sexy this way. Dominant and aggressive. Taking what he wanted from her. And yet the way he touched her, looked at her, only made her feel beautiful and sensual....
[H]e’d changed his strokes to add a swivel of his hips. Each time he pressed all the way inside he hit all new bundles of nerves, lighting her up in an entirely different and no less effective way.
All the while he looked at her, looked at her body as if she was something altogether precious and mesmerizing.
There was only pleasure and anticipation as he took her closer and closer, as his breathing began to lose its steady rhythm and she knew he was getting close.
“Now.”
It only took two circles around her clit before she exploded into orgasm. He snarled a curse, and deep inside her, she felt the jerk of his cock as he came as well. She arched with a too-loud moan when he bit the side of her breast and again, that edge, hurtling toward pain, wading in and the bloom of velvet pleasure when she came out the other side.
* * *
Chapter 9
She’d marked him for most of his life, and it was still there. Her fingerprints on his very soul.
***
Her back met the wall, her arms around his neck and her legs about his waist. Skin to skin, the heat of her was a fever. He eagerly swallowed her surprised breath as he continued to kiss her. The sounds she made deep in her throat drove him mad for her. Made the blinding, crippling desire for her crawl over his skin, marching onward until he gave in.
His teeth caught her bottom lip as he spread her a little wider. She hooked her ankles at his back and suddenly, her cunt engulfed his cock, welcoming him in a tight, hot embrace so good he had to pause or come right that second....
He used every part of himself against her. His weight to pin her hips in place, his hands, fingers digging into the muscle of her thighs and ass to hold her up. His cock fucking into her pussy, driving her mad with desire.
“I need to come. I want you to come in me.”
“You first.” He adjusted his hold, the tips of his fingers brushing against her labia, only adding more friction. He pushed her together, sealing her around his cock, and it was only a breath until the first tendrils of climax had begun to latch on, dragging her hip deep into it.
* * *
Chapter 10
"Follow me, and watch your step.”
The blast of heat wore away as she drew him through the narrow, sloped passage. And the dry was replaced by moist air. She broke some glow sticks and tossed them near the water to reflect the light.
“Pools?”
So very glad she’d brought him, she nodded. “Fed by underground springs. The saline is high here, so it’s easy to float. The dark blue ones just beyond”—she indicated three small pools to the southern end of the cavernous space—“are cool.”
* * *
His knuckles brushed against her rear passage just right, with just enough pressure to spark her nerve endings, the water barely lapping against it. But when he dipped his mouth to her, his tongue replacing his knuckles, she nearly hit the rocky ceiling above them.
The shock of not only how naughty it felt, but the pleasure he brought with it, made her stomach muscles tremble as she gasped.
His fingers fucked into her cunt as he licked at her rear passage. So much she nearly came until he held back and made his way to her clit again. Over and over until she was senseless, needing so badly to come, and yet never wanting this delicious tension to end.
When he pushed her over, her clit between his lips, two fingers hooked and stroking against her sweet spot, it was a long groan of his name.
“Gods,” she managed to say around her tongue, “that was some of your best work. What next?”
“Next, I do believe I’m going to fuck these and come on you.” He said this as he heaped her breasts together, sliding a thumb over her nipples.
He straddled her body as she held her breasts for him to slide his cock between. He made a sound, a grunt, a growl, an entreaty. Whatever it was, all that it was exploded, sending shards of the need to please him all through her system.
Each time he thrust all the way, she managed to lick the head and crown of his cock... tasting the spice of his semen....
“So fucking good to see my cock between your tits. Your nipples so hard.” He nearly stuttered the last bit and pushed hard, his hands on hers to hold her breasts tight.
When he came, his head didn’t fall back; instead, his half-closed eyes snapped open, gaze locked on hers. She saw it come over him, the exact moment when desire took over, glossing and blurring the sharp warrior’s eyes, and orgasm held tight.
He pulled back, fisting his cock, coming on her breasts. The heat of each pulse of his seed sliding over her nipples and chest was a shock and yet ridiculously arousing.
After running his fingers through it, teasing her nipples for a few moments, he pulled her back into the water.
“Let’s get cleaned up and try the cool water next.”
* * *
He unzipped and pulled his cock free. Her gaze was frozen on the way he fisted himself a few times, smearing the bead of [cum] all over the head. She licked her lips, swallowing hard, imagining how it would feel when he finally let her at it.
“All right then. Suck my cock, Piper.”
She managed to kick her pants off and crawl to him, pushing him to his back and scrambling atop his body to look down and wonder at his beauty. His belly called, and she gave in, kissing over the flat muscle, licking the hollow at his hip after she shoved the pants open.
“Easy, take it all.”
She wanted to rub all over him like a cat when he talked that way.
* * *
He stood there, and she turned to face him. In the dark she couldn’t see his features, but the tension in him vibrated. She knew what he needed so she got to her knees in the bed. “Come. I’m awake. Let me make it better. At least for a while.”
He was there, ripping at his clothes, naked in a few moments. There was no gentleness this time. His need was ferocious. Their coupling was hard and fierce, a thing of teeth and nails, of fingers and nails dug into flesh, of the hard slap as he thrust into her body, of her muffled cries of pleasure and his growls. His growls roamed over her senses like his hands on her skin.
The barely leashed desire, the way he snarled his need for her, it did her in.
* * *
Chapter 15
"It’s not safe around me, Piper.”
“It’s way safer around you than not. You’ve saved my life a few times now.”
“Yes, and how many times did your life need saving before I walked back into it?”
“It doesn’t matter, because you weren’t in it.”
He kissed her neck. The underside of her jaw just at her ears where he made her tremble. He tasted, drew it out, little touches, hot and wet as he nibbled on her shoulder, licked down the valley between her breasts, his hands all over her. Often his lovemaking was hard and fierce, urgent. But just then, he sampled. Meandered, dropping kisses and licks.
She struggled to get closer to the leg he had wedged between hers, brushing against it, enjoying the sensation.
As if he read her thoughts, he pressed his thigh against her harder, adjusting her body so she rocked against him.
“Take your pleasure,” he murmured around her nipple.
The roar of white noise subsided as she began to rock against his thigh. His hard, muscular thigh. She knew she acted like a wanton, and she didn’t care. She could be anything with him. Demand her pleasure and know he’d give it to her without hesitation. Without judgment.
* * *
Chapter 16
“No disrespect intended, but, Piper, there are people with more expertise at this who think otherwise.” Julian said....
“None taken, even though you should dial back the condescension more if you truly don’t mean for anyone to take offense.”
* * *
[S]he demolished the food he’d put on her tray and sat back, blinking. “Done. Now, please do filthy, unspeakable things to me.”
Fascinated, she watched his pupils swallow all the color of his eyes. His demeanor changed from protective to predatory in a shift she barely caught....
He hurried her back to their rooms. Her heartbeat quickened with each step, knowing he would have her any way he wanted once they were alone. Knowing she’d give him anything he wanted. Knowing she’d love it....
“I feel as if you’re a pirate about to ravish me....”
That part of her descended from small, furry animals froze and then showed its belly in utter surrender. His snarl only thrilled her more when he pushed through the door to their rooms and slammed it behind him.
“On your knees,” he said as he lowered her to her feet with exquisite care.
Hoo.
She dropped to her knees as he’d asked. No. Ordered.
“You know how I like it.”
Swallowing hard, she reached and lowered his zipper, one snick at a time. The sound snagged her consciousness, drawing her deeper into his spell.
As if moving through warm honey, she reached into his pants and drew out his cock. Beautiful, like the rest of him. Feral. Just then so hard he’d have tapped his belly with it if it weren’t in her hand, angling for her to take a taste.
And she did. Dark. Spicy. Salty and utterly male. Breathing deep, she let herself fall into the spell. Licking over and around the head, she moved down little by little with each swipe of her tongue.
His taste filled her, need itched along her skin, she wanted to drown in him....
* * *
“Enough,” he said softly, pulling her up to her feet. “Bed. Naked. On your back.”
... He walked in some minutes later. “I’ve wanted to do this for a while now. Since you first mentioned it as a joke.” He held up a piece of vivid purple material. “A scarf I saw at the Portal station and thought it would look even better over your eyes.”
No words.
He moved to her, sure of her response. Her nipples thrust out, hard, begging for his attention. He got up on the bed, straddling her body....
He smiled, his gaze raking over her breasts. And the world went soft and purple when he leaned down and tied the scarf over her eyes....
Deep inside the dark, soft place he’d bound her in there was only sensation. Only his hands on her skin, the hot brand of his mouth on the curve of her breast, the hollow at her hip, the nip of teeth, the brilliant shards of pleasure/pain as his short, square nails scored down her sides until she let out a shaky moan of entreaty....
He spread her thighs wide and settled in for a long lick, and she shuddered, jutting her hips forward, needing more.
And he gave it to her.
Two fingers in her pussy and another teasing her rear passage, he played against her clit until she nearly screamed....
He kissed her mound. “Your taste lives in me, Piper.”
His words wrapped around her, caressing, squeezing. It was as if the blindfold had freed his tongue—literally and figuratively—setting her on fire.
And then he rolled her over, kissing a hot, wet line down her spine, his tongue swirling in the slight dip at each side when he reached her ass.
She smelled the lube right before she felt it, warm and slick down the crack of her ass. Drawing a shaky breath, she willed herself to relax as his thumbs massaged against her asshole, pressing just a bit more with each touch.
It was . . . new. Taboo. Dark and sticky. She’d been fucked in the ass three times. All the same man who had a big hard-on for it. She wasn’t overly impressed. Once he had gone, she’d never felt any compulsion to have a dick in there ever again.
But with Andrei things were different. He touched her like a man who knew every part of her body, knew how to excite and ready her for anything he wanted to deliver.
He drew her in with each brush, each caress, until she practically thrust herself at him, pressing herself back on his fingers. It was uncomfortable at first.
“Shh. Push against me as I press in. Finger your clit, get yourself wet and hot, and it’ll be better.”
She nearly lost her mind, mad to have more from him.
He stretched her. Slowly and carefully. There was no haste in him as he scissored his fingers, making way.
He slipped all the way in with his fingers. At first there was that burn, the sharp sting of unexpected penetration. And then it warmed as she made the effort to relax.
“You don’t know what it does to me to feel you relax. Knowing you’re ready for me to put my cock in your ass.”
Raw desire edged his words. Her nipples brushed the blankets beneath her as she thrust herself back at him. “In me. Andrei, please.”
“Please what?” He pulled her up so she was on her knees, her head down and her ass up.
There was no hesitation in her, no shame with him. Never. “Fuck me. Put your cock in my ass.”
He nipped her left cheek hard. Enough to make her gasp a breath, and then he was pushing in.
So patient was her Andrei. Pressing carefully but consistently, past the first ring of muscle. She blew out a breath. A cock was an entirely different feeling in one’s ass. Fingers couldn’t compare.
Trying to relax, she breathed through it, pushing out as he pushed in. But once he reached around and flicked a fingertip over her clit, she was just fine.
There was nothing but sensation. Overfull. Too much. She wrestled back her panic that it was too much. He petted her flanks, uttering soft sounds until she relaxed again.
With her eyes covered it was hard to gauge time. She let go and floated as he began to thrust in short, feral digs, all while his fingertips played through the folds of her cunt, keeping her hanging on the edge of climax.
His hands on her were covetous. Jealous and greedy. In his touch she was a goddess. The embodiment of sex and desire.
* * *
Chapter 17
[S]he peeled her clothes off and jumped into the bottom-most pool. They’d tested the water when they’d passed by earlier that day and found it clean enough to bathe and even drink after he used the treatment drops in it.
The cool of it against her heated skin made her feel better immediately, and when he swam past, equally naked, dark hair wet and slicked back, she knew what else they could do to pass the time.
Diving, she swam across to him, surfacing and sliding her body up his. “I need you.”
Treading water, he touched her, sliding the pad of his thumb over her cheekbones, tracing. “It seems I always need you. I touch you and the noise quiets, the calm descends and all I can see and feel is you. Everything else falls away.”
Piper understood just then that she was his respite as equally as he was hers. She was his place of home, of calm and good things . . . home.
* * *
Chapter 18
She laughed, leaning back, bracing her hands on his thighs. The change in angle was delightful, and she danced right on the very edge of coming.
He reared up, holding her down on him as he thrust up over and over, so hard her breasts swayed and she made a sound she hadn’t intended to each time he slammed home.
This Andrei made her light-headed. His jaw was clenched, teeth bared as the muscles on his forearm corded where he held her down and those in his magnificent belly flexed as he moved.
“Come all over my cock, Piper.”
* * *
Chapter 19 [prep for Fed Chronicles #5]
[A] muffled sound echoed through the room, and he crouched, seeking the source until he got to the far wall.
A one-way glass and behind it a person.
A woman.
Crouched in a far corner, rocking and making a keening wail. Her hair was unkempt, and he had no idea if she’d been alone in there for very long.
He tried to harden his heart and walk away; he had no idea who she was, and that should have been enough. She was not his mission. Getting the data out and blowing this building to eternity was.
But he couldn’t leave. Not without a little more information at least.
The gleam of the testing journal in the rack to the left of the door caught his attention. He’d find answers in there, wouldn’t he?
He read it, getting several pages in and skimming, turning and turning until he wanted to vomit with the knowledge. And then he wanted to break his father’s neck with his own hands.
He unlocked the door, and she backed up into a corner, making herself very small. He decided clear and blunt would be the way to go.
“My name is Vincenz Cuomo, and I’m here to help you. I’m a Federation military officer, and we’re about to blow this place up. Do you want to live?”
Green eyes filled with panic and a hint of madness met his. She gripped the bed and stood on shaky legs.
She licked her lips and tried to speak, but instead she nodded her head and took a step to him, faltering, and he moved to her, catching her against his body.
“I have to pick you up, all right?”
Another jerky nod, and he did, cradling her against his chest as he got the fuck out of there and headed to the roof....
“I have a . . . victim. Found her in the labs.” Vincenz’s voice crackled over the comms as they burst from the stairwell out to the landing pad.
He stood there holding a woman close to screaming, if the look on her face was any indication of her emotional state. Bedraggled. Wild-eyed and white with fear.
Piper’s heart ached for the woman and whatever she’d endured to give her that look.
Chapter 20
Ellis snorted. “You joined the military during wartime, young lady. Don’t thank me for your foolhardy sense of loyalty to yon lunkhead there.” He indicated Andrei, who sighed heavily.
_____________________________________
Chapter 7:
Andrei stretched out on the now familiar bed and considered the problem. His cock. Since he’d first seen her, he’d constantly been hard. Twice, three times a day when he could find the time alone, he’d jerk off, imagining her cunt surrounding him, imagining her on her knees, looking up at him as she sucked his cock. Always her face, her body. Gods, the filthy things he wanted to do with her. To her. His hands shook with the effort to walk past her bedroom door each night and not stop.
Only to lie in bed, his fist around his cock, thrusting, sweating, dreaming of her and not having her.
* * *
She laughed and scrambled astride his body, rubbing herself over his cock....
He rolled them so that he was on top, teasing her with his cock as he pinned her. And again, she found her hands over her head as he held them tight in a firm but gentle grip. This time there was no hesitation in him when she struggled.
Piper found herself outrageously wet as he teased her with his cock. He nibbled down the line of her neck and across her collarbone, pausing to lick and kiss the hollow of her throat. His free hand moved to her nipple, where he worked some sort of magic with the way he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, twisting and pulling it just exactly right. Keeping that edge.
“What is it you said you wanted?” he murmured, kissing the underside of her jaw, still teasing her with the head of his cock. Just barely entering her before sliding it up and over her clit and then back to her gate again.
“You know what I want.” She managed not to pant, but it was a close thing.
“Yes. Do you know what I want?”
Oh. Gods, she nearly came when he brushed his cock against her again, just from the realization. He wanted her to beg for it, meant to tease her and then make her beg. It shouldn’t make her hot. It shouldn’t make her whimper.
But it did.
“Please put your cock inside me. Please fuck me.”
And he was slowly pushing into her as he let go of her wrists and angled himself to his haunches. He grabbed her ankles and pushed them up and then slid that iron grip up to her knees to spread her wide, her ass resting on his thighs as he began to thrust.
Her position allowed for little movement; he controlled the entire process, and she couldn’t seem to get enough. He was overwhelmingly sexy this way. Dominant and aggressive. Taking what he wanted from her. And yet the way he touched her, looked at her, only made her feel beautiful and sensual....
[H]e’d changed his strokes to add a swivel of his hips. Each time he pressed all the way inside he hit all new bundles of nerves, lighting her up in an entirely different and no less effective way.
All the while he looked at her, looked at her body as if she was something altogether precious and mesmerizing.
There was only pleasure and anticipation as he took her closer and closer, as his breathing began to lose its steady rhythm and she knew he was getting close.
“Now.”
It only took two circles around her clit before she exploded into orgasm. He snarled a curse, and deep inside her, she felt the jerk of his cock as he came as well. She arched with a too-loud moan when he bit the side of her breast and again, that edge, hurtling toward pain, wading in and the bloom of velvet pleasure when she came out the other side.
* * *
Chapter 9
She’d marked him for most of his life, and it was still there. Her fingerprints on his very soul.
***
Her back met the wall, her arms around his neck and her legs about his waist. Skin to skin, the heat of her was a fever. He eagerly swallowed her surprised breath as he continued to kiss her. The sounds she made deep in her throat drove him mad for her. Made the blinding, crippling desire for her crawl over his skin, marching onward until he gave in.
His teeth caught her bottom lip as he spread her a little wider. She hooked her ankles at his back and suddenly, her cunt engulfed his cock, welcoming him in a tight, hot embrace so good he had to pause or come right that second....
He used every part of himself against her. His weight to pin her hips in place, his hands, fingers digging into the muscle of her thighs and ass to hold her up. His cock fucking into her pussy, driving her mad with desire.
“I need to come. I want you to come in me.”
“You first.” He adjusted his hold, the tips of his fingers brushing against her labia, only adding more friction. He pushed her together, sealing her around his cock, and it was only a breath until the first tendrils of climax had begun to latch on, dragging her hip deep into it.
* * *
Chapter 10
"Follow me, and watch your step.”
The blast of heat wore away as she drew him through the narrow, sloped passage. And the dry was replaced by moist air. She broke some glow sticks and tossed them near the water to reflect the light.
“Pools?”
So very glad she’d brought him, she nodded. “Fed by underground springs. The saline is high here, so it’s easy to float. The dark blue ones just beyond”—she indicated three small pools to the southern end of the cavernous space—“are cool.”
* * *
His knuckles brushed against her rear passage just right, with just enough pressure to spark her nerve endings, the water barely lapping against it. But when he dipped his mouth to her, his tongue replacing his knuckles, she nearly hit the rocky ceiling above them.
The shock of not only how naughty it felt, but the pleasure he brought with it, made her stomach muscles tremble as she gasped.
His fingers fucked into her cunt as he licked at her rear passage. So much she nearly came until he held back and made his way to her clit again. Over and over until she was senseless, needing so badly to come, and yet never wanting this delicious tension to end.
When he pushed her over, her clit between his lips, two fingers hooked and stroking against her sweet spot, it was a long groan of his name.
“Gods,” she managed to say around her tongue, “that was some of your best work. What next?”
“Next, I do believe I’m going to fuck these and come on you.” He said this as he heaped her breasts together, sliding a thumb over her nipples.
He straddled her body as she held her breasts for him to slide his cock between. He made a sound, a grunt, a growl, an entreaty. Whatever it was, all that it was exploded, sending shards of the need to please him all through her system.
Each time he thrust all the way, she managed to lick the head and crown of his cock... tasting the spice of his semen....
“So fucking good to see my cock between your tits. Your nipples so hard.” He nearly stuttered the last bit and pushed hard, his hands on hers to hold her breasts tight.
When he came, his head didn’t fall back; instead, his half-closed eyes snapped open, gaze locked on hers. She saw it come over him, the exact moment when desire took over, glossing and blurring the sharp warrior’s eyes, and orgasm held tight.
He pulled back, fisting his cock, coming on her breasts. The heat of each pulse of his seed sliding over her nipples and chest was a shock and yet ridiculously arousing.
After running his fingers through it, teasing her nipples for a few moments, he pulled her back into the water.
“Let’s get cleaned up and try the cool water next.”
* * *
He unzipped and pulled his cock free. Her gaze was frozen on the way he fisted himself a few times, smearing the bead of [cum] all over the head. She licked her lips, swallowing hard, imagining how it would feel when he finally let her at it.
“All right then. Suck my cock, Piper.”
She managed to kick her pants off and crawl to him, pushing him to his back and scrambling atop his body to look down and wonder at his beauty. His belly called, and she gave in, kissing over the flat muscle, licking the hollow at his hip after she shoved the pants open.
“Easy, take it all.”
She wanted to rub all over him like a cat when he talked that way.
* * *
He stood there, and she turned to face him. In the dark she couldn’t see his features, but the tension in him vibrated. She knew what he needed so she got to her knees in the bed. “Come. I’m awake. Let me make it better. At least for a while.”
He was there, ripping at his clothes, naked in a few moments. There was no gentleness this time. His need was ferocious. Their coupling was hard and fierce, a thing of teeth and nails, of fingers and nails dug into flesh, of the hard slap as he thrust into her body, of her muffled cries of pleasure and his growls. His growls roamed over her senses like his hands on her skin.
The barely leashed desire, the way he snarled his need for her, it did her in.
* * *
Chapter 15
"It’s not safe around me, Piper.”
“It’s way safer around you than not. You’ve saved my life a few times now.”
“Yes, and how many times did your life need saving before I walked back into it?”
“It doesn’t matter, because you weren’t in it.”
He kissed her neck. The underside of her jaw just at her ears where he made her tremble. He tasted, drew it out, little touches, hot and wet as he nibbled on her shoulder, licked down the valley between her breasts, his hands all over her. Often his lovemaking was hard and fierce, urgent. But just then, he sampled. Meandered, dropping kisses and licks.
She struggled to get closer to the leg he had wedged between hers, brushing against it, enjoying the sensation.
As if he read her thoughts, he pressed his thigh against her harder, adjusting her body so she rocked against him.
“Take your pleasure,” he murmured around her nipple.
The roar of white noise subsided as she began to rock against his thigh. His hard, muscular thigh. She knew she acted like a wanton, and she didn’t care. She could be anything with him. Demand her pleasure and know he’d give it to her without hesitation. Without judgment.
* * *
Chapter 16
“No disrespect intended, but, Piper, there are people with more expertise at this who think otherwise.” Julian said....
“None taken, even though you should dial back the condescension more if you truly don’t mean for anyone to take offense.”
* * *
[S]he demolished the food he’d put on her tray and sat back, blinking. “Done. Now, please do filthy, unspeakable things to me.”
Fascinated, she watched his pupils swallow all the color of his eyes. His demeanor changed from protective to predatory in a shift she barely caught....
He hurried her back to their rooms. Her heartbeat quickened with each step, knowing he would have her any way he wanted once they were alone. Knowing she’d give him anything he wanted. Knowing she’d love it....
“I feel as if you’re a pirate about to ravish me....”
That part of her descended from small, furry animals froze and then showed its belly in utter surrender. His snarl only thrilled her more when he pushed through the door to their rooms and slammed it behind him.
“On your knees,” he said as he lowered her to her feet with exquisite care.
Hoo.
She dropped to her knees as he’d asked. No. Ordered.
“You know how I like it.”
Swallowing hard, she reached and lowered his zipper, one snick at a time. The sound snagged her consciousness, drawing her deeper into his spell.
As if moving through warm honey, she reached into his pants and drew out his cock. Beautiful, like the rest of him. Feral. Just then so hard he’d have tapped his belly with it if it weren’t in her hand, angling for her to take a taste.
And she did. Dark. Spicy. Salty and utterly male. Breathing deep, she let herself fall into the spell. Licking over and around the head, she moved down little by little with each swipe of her tongue.
His taste filled her, need itched along her skin, she wanted to drown in him....
* * *
“Enough,” he said softly, pulling her up to her feet. “Bed. Naked. On your back.”
... He walked in some minutes later. “I’ve wanted to do this for a while now. Since you first mentioned it as a joke.” He held up a piece of vivid purple material. “A scarf I saw at the Portal station and thought it would look even better over your eyes.”
No words.
He moved to her, sure of her response. Her nipples thrust out, hard, begging for his attention. He got up on the bed, straddling her body....
He smiled, his gaze raking over her breasts. And the world went soft and purple when he leaned down and tied the scarf over her eyes....
Deep inside the dark, soft place he’d bound her in there was only sensation. Only his hands on her skin, the hot brand of his mouth on the curve of her breast, the hollow at her hip, the nip of teeth, the brilliant shards of pleasure/pain as his short, square nails scored down her sides until she let out a shaky moan of entreaty....
He spread her thighs wide and settled in for a long lick, and she shuddered, jutting her hips forward, needing more.
And he gave it to her.
Two fingers in her pussy and another teasing her rear passage, he played against her clit until she nearly screamed....
He kissed her mound. “Your taste lives in me, Piper.”
His words wrapped around her, caressing, squeezing. It was as if the blindfold had freed his tongue—literally and figuratively—setting her on fire.
And then he rolled her over, kissing a hot, wet line down her spine, his tongue swirling in the slight dip at each side when he reached her ass.
She smelled the lube right before she felt it, warm and slick down the crack of her ass. Drawing a shaky breath, she willed herself to relax as his thumbs massaged against her asshole, pressing just a bit more with each touch.
It was . . . new. Taboo. Dark and sticky. She’d been fucked in the ass three times. All the same man who had a big hard-on for it. She wasn’t overly impressed. Once he had gone, she’d never felt any compulsion to have a dick in there ever again.
But with Andrei things were different. He touched her like a man who knew every part of her body, knew how to excite and ready her for anything he wanted to deliver.
He drew her in with each brush, each caress, until she practically thrust herself at him, pressing herself back on his fingers. It was uncomfortable at first.
“Shh. Push against me as I press in. Finger your clit, get yourself wet and hot, and it’ll be better.”
She nearly lost her mind, mad to have more from him.
He stretched her. Slowly and carefully. There was no haste in him as he scissored his fingers, making way.
He slipped all the way in with his fingers. At first there was that burn, the sharp sting of unexpected penetration. And then it warmed as she made the effort to relax.
“You don’t know what it does to me to feel you relax. Knowing you’re ready for me to put my cock in your ass.”
Raw desire edged his words. Her nipples brushed the blankets beneath her as she thrust herself back at him. “In me. Andrei, please.”
“Please what?” He pulled her up so she was on her knees, her head down and her ass up.
There was no hesitation in her, no shame with him. Never. “Fuck me. Put your cock in my ass.”
He nipped her left cheek hard. Enough to make her gasp a breath, and then he was pushing in.
So patient was her Andrei. Pressing carefully but consistently, past the first ring of muscle. She blew out a breath. A cock was an entirely different feeling in one’s ass. Fingers couldn’t compare.
Trying to relax, she breathed through it, pushing out as he pushed in. But once he reached around and flicked a fingertip over her clit, she was just fine.
There was nothing but sensation. Overfull. Too much. She wrestled back her panic that it was too much. He petted her flanks, uttering soft sounds until she relaxed again.
With her eyes covered it was hard to gauge time. She let go and floated as he began to thrust in short, feral digs, all while his fingertips played through the folds of her cunt, keeping her hanging on the edge of climax.
His hands on her were covetous. Jealous and greedy. In his touch she was a goddess. The embodiment of sex and desire.
* * *
Chapter 17
[S]he peeled her clothes off and jumped into the bottom-most pool. They’d tested the water when they’d passed by earlier that day and found it clean enough to bathe and even drink after he used the treatment drops in it.
The cool of it against her heated skin made her feel better immediately, and when he swam past, equally naked, dark hair wet and slicked back, she knew what else they could do to pass the time.
Diving, she swam across to him, surfacing and sliding her body up his. “I need you.”
Treading water, he touched her, sliding the pad of his thumb over her cheekbones, tracing. “It seems I always need you. I touch you and the noise quiets, the calm descends and all I can see and feel is you. Everything else falls away.”
Piper understood just then that she was his respite as equally as he was hers. She was his place of home, of calm and good things . . . home.
* * *
Chapter 18
She laughed, leaning back, bracing her hands on his thighs. The change in angle was delightful, and she danced right on the very edge of coming.
He reared up, holding her down on him as he thrust up over and over, so hard her breasts swayed and she made a sound she hadn’t intended to each time he slammed home.
This Andrei made her light-headed. His jaw was clenched, teeth bared as the muscles on his forearm corded where he held her down and those in his magnificent belly flexed as he moved.
“Come all over my cock, Piper.”
* * *
Chapter 19 [prep for Fed Chronicles #5]
[A] muffled sound echoed through the room, and he crouched, seeking the source until he got to the far wall.
A one-way glass and behind it a person.
A woman.
Crouched in a far corner, rocking and making a keening wail. Her hair was unkempt, and he had no idea if she’d been alone in there for very long.
He tried to harden his heart and walk away; he had no idea who she was, and that should have been enough. She was not his mission. Getting the data out and blowing this building to eternity was.
But he couldn’t leave. Not without a little more information at least.
The gleam of the testing journal in the rack to the left of the door caught his attention. He’d find answers in there, wouldn’t he?
He read it, getting several pages in and skimming, turning and turning until he wanted to vomit with the knowledge. And then he wanted to break his father’s neck with his own hands.
He unlocked the door, and she backed up into a corner, making herself very small. He decided clear and blunt would be the way to go.
“My name is Vincenz Cuomo, and I’m here to help you. I’m a Federation military officer, and we’re about to blow this place up. Do you want to live?”
Green eyes filled with panic and a hint of madness met his. She gripped the bed and stood on shaky legs.
She licked her lips and tried to speak, but instead she nodded her head and took a step to him, faltering, and he moved to her, catching her against his body.
“I have to pick you up, all right?”
Another jerky nod, and he did, cradling her against his chest as he got the fuck out of there and headed to the roof....
“I have a . . . victim. Found her in the labs.” Vincenz’s voice crackled over the comms as they burst from the stairwell out to the landing pad.
He stood there holding a woman close to screaming, if the look on her face was any indication of her emotional state. Bedraggled. Wild-eyed and white with fear.
Piper’s heart ached for the woman and whatever she’d endured to give her that look.
Chapter 20
Ellis snorted. “You joined the military during wartime, young lady. Don’t thank me for your foolhardy sense of loyalty to yon lunkhead there.” He indicated Andrei, who sighed heavily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2012
This is considered the second book in the Phantom Corps series but it's also an extension of the Federation Chronicles series that starts with the book Undercover. In my mind it's all part of the same series, not sure why it's listed as two different.
Anyway, this book was about Andrei who we meet in the book Insatiable. He was definitely one of those bad boy characters who try hard to keep people at arm's length for their own safety. Has the potential of being really annoying, but Andrei was written too well for that. He was a sexy, endearing hero and I loved every minute of his story. From how he started out in the gutter and a down on his luck delinquent up to being the second-in-command in the Phantom Corps.
I also really loved Piper's character. She was fierce and not a silly female (which can be exhausting to read). She knew what she wanted, went for it and didn't make up excuses for it either. Definitely balls to the wall woman. And while Andrei and Piper's sexual relationship had D/s aspects to it, outside of the bedroom they were nothing but equals. Which I adored.
Just backing up to the sexual part of the story. This one was more on par with the first book Undercover. Had a little bit of a darker hint to the sexuality (like I said, dipping the toes into the D/s world) and the scenes were intense and hot. Seeing Andrei in that dominant role was very appealing and made me like him even more. Just a note to those who are squeamish about backdoor action, it does take place in this book. There are a few scenes that hint at the possibility of rear end action, and then there was one more detailed scene. Just putting it out there!
I also am looking forward to a book with Julian and Vincenz. I'm assuming that Hannah will also be involved in that relationship. Not sure if their book is even going to happen, but I would LOVE to see it!
Anyway, this book was about Andrei who we meet in the book Insatiable. He was definitely one of those bad boy characters who try hard to keep people at arm's length for their own safety. Has the potential of being really annoying, but Andrei was written too well for that. He was a sexy, endearing hero and I loved every minute of his story. From how he started out in the gutter and a down on his luck delinquent up to being the second-in-command in the Phantom Corps.
I also really loved Piper's character. She was fierce and not a silly female (which can be exhausting to read). She knew what she wanted, went for it and didn't make up excuses for it either. Definitely balls to the wall woman. And while Andrei and Piper's sexual relationship had D/s aspects to it, outside of the bedroom they were nothing but equals. Which I adored.
Just backing up to the sexual part of the story. This one was more on par with the first book Undercover. Had a little bit of a darker hint to the sexuality (like I said, dipping the toes into the D/s world) and the scenes were intense and hot. Seeing Andrei in that dominant role was very appealing and made me like him even more. Just a note to those who are squeamish about backdoor action, it does take place in this book. There are a few scenes that hint at the possibility of rear end action, and then there was one more detailed scene. Just putting it out there!
I also am looking forward to a book with Julian and Vincenz. I'm assuming that Hannah will also be involved in that relationship. Not sure if their book is even going to happen, but I would LOVE to see it!
August 12, 2012
It seems that an editor or someone gave Ms. Dane a thesaurus from Regency England and said, here: Use this. The following words were used: kip, wanton, rogue, rake, abode, and more. I'll add others as I remember them. There was nothing really likeable about Piper, she was an idiot, she was childish, and I just wanted to smack her around. She totally discounted everything Andrei said, EVERYTHING. She felt like she knew best and didn't have to listen to anything he said about WHAT HE'S BEEN DOING FOR YEARS.
April 12, 2011
Really enjoyed this addition to the Phantom Corps series. Loved Piper who had a lot of spunk and was very open and honest about her affection. Loved the fact that this relationship essentially started when they were kids and that the years they spent separated didn't put a dent in the young love they felt for each other. Looking forward to next book in series.
March 17, 2011
Review coming, when I stop being lazy. But I loved it.
October 14, 2020
4.5 stars
*happy sigh* This series just keeps getting more and more compelling and awesome! Cannot wait for the next book!
*happy sigh* This series just keeps getting more and more compelling and awesome! Cannot wait for the next book!
April 18, 2022
Loved it
Piper is great. Smart. Skilled pilot and takes crap from no one! Andrei is a lethal and amazing asset. He returns to his home Verse and finds his love in the middle of a vicious firefight. He shows up takes out the bad guys and Piper decides he is still hers and reclaims him and his heart. The war is on. Tragic situations. Love them. Great book!!
Piper is great. Smart. Skilled pilot and takes crap from no one! Andrei is a lethal and amazing asset. He returns to his home Verse and finds his love in the middle of a vicious firefight. He shows up takes out the bad guys and Piper decides he is still hers and reclaims him and his heart. The war is on. Tragic situations. Love them. Great book!!
library
July 30, 20210
February 23, 2022
I love Lauren Dane's storytelling. And her characters. And all her many books - including this one.
Read
May 7, 2024Hot, fast, and sweet. Gets your blood rushing and perfect for a spicy romance lover in a slump.
January 25, 2012
Full review at http://www.delightedreader.com/posts/...
I fell into reading the Federation Chronicles series a month ago and it hooked me instantly. Dealing with topics I shy away from, I was curious about why I liked the series so much. My conclusion was the characters and not necessarily the environment they came from. In this futuristic/sci-fi series it feels like we abandoned Earth or at least a lot of the population left. There isn’t much background as to why people left, or why a new government was created or even why there are two different governments. The two new ones are vastly different. The Federation is made up of Ranked and unranked and while that is a big deal, it seems that the unranked are treated somewhat better than the lower class in the other government. The Imperialist have a hierarchy type government and the lower class has no real choices. Both governments don’t leave much room for moving up. Basically you are stuck with the luck of being born to the right family. This is why I was wondering why I liked the series so much. It is because I love the characters.
Andrei Solace had a hard life growing up. After being jailed for a fight, the Phantom Corp recruits him to be a deadly assassin. Leaving what little family he has behind, he moves on, but never forgets his past. While he has a job, he never goes back until the war gets closer and he is forced to go on assignment back to the people who loved him, especially the woman who holds his heart.
Mercenary Piper Roundtree has loved Andrei since she was a young girl. She hoped he had found peace when he left their lives, but she never stopped thinking of him and loving him. Money came from time to time, which reassured her he was still living. During a particular hard fight with the Imperialist, Andrei walks back into her life and heart.
While Andrei tries not to get involved, he can’t forget that Piper was the one calming part of his life. He loved her fiercely when they were younger and now the woman is so much more than he can believe. But he is afraid to give his heart knowing his job is dangerous. But Piper is having none of it. She knows life can be taken away in an instant and she intends to love Andrei for as long as she can; never leaving his side.
Finding out what the Imperialist are building, mining and planning is more important than one man or woman, but Piper refused to leave Andrei’s side, becoming a pair that is feared and revered.
I like Piper’s character a lot. She isn’t rich in a monetary way, but is rich in the heart of those who love her. She is a natural leader and a take charge lady. Living on a harsh planet has made her fiercely loyal but also capable of taking care of herself and her compound. But the planet is hard to live on, and she is doing all she can along with her brothers to take care of each other. She is feminine but also hard as nails. All the little things Andrei gave her are her treasures, little things most people take for granted. When she decides she is in love, she gives it her whole heart and soul. There is no half measures with her. Even in the face of some tough military guys, she holds her own.
I respected Andrei’s character. He doesn’t have much of a life where he is from except for Piper. When the Corps finds him, he knows it is the best thing he can do with his life. He works hard, but it isn’t easy to just give up you old behaviors, so things weren’t totally easy for him. Never forgetting where he is from, he often sends money back to his family and continues to sponsor helping other people. They all love him but he is a quiet man not wanting the appreciation he is being shown. He is humble. I guess that is what drew me to him. A good man with a huge heart, but a tough assassin who does the job he feels is for the best for his government.
While I loved this story, I had some problems with it as well. There is one character who is killed and it broke my heart. I understood that war is hard and not everyone can or will survive, but it still hurt and I can still say I didn’t like it! The second thing I really didn’t like was the easy acceptance of Piper into the military fold. While she had some good ideas, it felt like she forced her way in and they just gave in. There was one more thing that bothered me but it is a spoiler so I won’t mention it.
The romance was sweet while the sex was meltingly hot! Sweet because they had a past and he treated her like a queen. Meltingly hot because they rocked the bed and made me melt. There is no lack of hotness in this book!
So while I liked it, the issues still have me wanting me to rise the dead. But I seriously love the series and suggest you read all of them and wait like I am for the next book, Captivated.
I fell into reading the Federation Chronicles series a month ago and it hooked me instantly. Dealing with topics I shy away from, I was curious about why I liked the series so much. My conclusion was the characters and not necessarily the environment they came from. In this futuristic/sci-fi series it feels like we abandoned Earth or at least a lot of the population left. There isn’t much background as to why people left, or why a new government was created or even why there are two different governments. The two new ones are vastly different. The Federation is made up of Ranked and unranked and while that is a big deal, it seems that the unranked are treated somewhat better than the lower class in the other government. The Imperialist have a hierarchy type government and the lower class has no real choices. Both governments don’t leave much room for moving up. Basically you are stuck with the luck of being born to the right family. This is why I was wondering why I liked the series so much. It is because I love the characters.
Andrei Solace had a hard life growing up. After being jailed for a fight, the Phantom Corp recruits him to be a deadly assassin. Leaving what little family he has behind, he moves on, but never forgets his past. While he has a job, he never goes back until the war gets closer and he is forced to go on assignment back to the people who loved him, especially the woman who holds his heart.
Mercenary Piper Roundtree has loved Andrei since she was a young girl. She hoped he had found peace when he left their lives, but she never stopped thinking of him and loving him. Money came from time to time, which reassured her he was still living. During a particular hard fight with the Imperialist, Andrei walks back into her life and heart.
While Andrei tries not to get involved, he can’t forget that Piper was the one calming part of his life. He loved her fiercely when they were younger and now the woman is so much more than he can believe. But he is afraid to give his heart knowing his job is dangerous. But Piper is having none of it. She knows life can be taken away in an instant and she intends to love Andrei for as long as she can; never leaving his side.
Finding out what the Imperialist are building, mining and planning is more important than one man or woman, but Piper refused to leave Andrei’s side, becoming a pair that is feared and revered.
I like Piper’s character a lot. She isn’t rich in a monetary way, but is rich in the heart of those who love her. She is a natural leader and a take charge lady. Living on a harsh planet has made her fiercely loyal but also capable of taking care of herself and her compound. But the planet is hard to live on, and she is doing all she can along with her brothers to take care of each other. She is feminine but also hard as nails. All the little things Andrei gave her are her treasures, little things most people take for granted. When she decides she is in love, she gives it her whole heart and soul. There is no half measures with her. Even in the face of some tough military guys, she holds her own.
I respected Andrei’s character. He doesn’t have much of a life where he is from except for Piper. When the Corps finds him, he knows it is the best thing he can do with his life. He works hard, but it isn’t easy to just give up you old behaviors, so things weren’t totally easy for him. Never forgetting where he is from, he often sends money back to his family and continues to sponsor helping other people. They all love him but he is a quiet man not wanting the appreciation he is being shown. He is humble. I guess that is what drew me to him. A good man with a huge heart, but a tough assassin who does the job he feels is for the best for his government.
While I loved this story, I had some problems with it as well. There is one character who is killed and it broke my heart. I understood that war is hard and not everyone can or will survive, but it still hurt and I can still say I didn’t like it! The second thing I really didn’t like was the easy acceptance of Piper into the military fold. While she had some good ideas, it felt like she forced her way in and they just gave in. There was one more thing that bothered me but it is a spoiler so I won’t mention it.
The romance was sweet while the sex was meltingly hot! Sweet because they had a past and he treated her like a queen. Meltingly hot because they rocked the bed and made me melt. There is no lack of hotness in this book!
So while I liked it, the issues still have me wanting me to rise the dead. But I seriously love the series and suggest you read all of them and wait like I am for the next book, Captivated.
August 2, 2021
Surprisingly good plot for a trashy romancing novel. And if you're in it for the sex there's plenty to enjoy
June 26, 2012
Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: This is a book I seriously think you should read.
Opening Sentence: “Sir, you can’t go in there!”
The Review:
I don’t know what to say about this one, how much to tell you, the things you need to know that will make you want to read this book. But what I do know is how I want you to feel about this book. I want you to go read it.
This series takes place well into our future, during a time when we’ve apparently figured out the whole space travel thing and have been settled on other planets in other places for quite a long time. Here, we have taken these places and split them into two groups, The Federation — the “good guys” and the Imperium — the “bad guys”. These two are on opposite sides of an impending war, and nether of them will stop before the other is gone.
Andrei is another super spy extraordinaire on a mission to eradicate evil from destroying his peace of mind. His mission, however, involves returning him to the ‘Verse of his birth to revive an old friendship with a family of mercenaries from his childhood. Upon the death of his last remaining family member, his mother, the Roundtrees became the family of his heart. So close was their relationship that he even sends them money to help out. But it was his relationship with the Roundtree sister, Piper, that remains today in his very soul.
Eleven years ago, Piper Roundtree’s first love, and first lover, disappeared from prison without a trace. She held the fear of his sentence to a work camp, or even death, in her heart until the day a packet of money arrives signed with his initial. And now those packets are her only remaining link to him, the only way she has of knowing he still lives. That is, until the day he arrives to save her and her family from an attack.
It appears the Imperium wants her to run some rather serious illegals across the Verses, and she has refused. Repeatedly! So, they turn towards brute force to get their way, and are turned back around by Andrei. Who, by the by, has returned to find out exactly what those illegals are. It is for this purpose that Andrei enlists the help of the Roundtree gang, and of Piper specifically. Well, Piper actually enlists herself, as Andrei would rather her stay home safe.
The pair play a part in uncovering an evil plot that will cost many lives and create much chaos. And in the process, discover that their young love was indeed true love, over and over again.
I like this book’s hero more than I liked the last one. I felt for him more, the heartbreak a bit worse. I just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket to keep him safe…wouldn’t mind joining him in that blanket, though. *wink* Overall, this is a book I seriously think you guys should read.
Notable Scene:
He shed her as he left, not wanting any part of her to be sullied by what he’d be dealing with. Moving silently, steadily and down toward the part of town where law and order were a long distant memory. Where murder was common, fights like communion. He moved, letting it all roll off him, slicing through the crowds, barely noticed.
His quarry lay in an establishment full of the worst society had to offer. As such, he had the information he needed within a few minutes and headed out again.
He climbed the exterior fire stairs to a one-room, coldwater flat above a whorehouse. Inside it was the man who’d been trading credits for Imperialist access to the Waystation.
Andrei dropped to the floor and shook his head at the man who rose and made toward the door. The man didn’t listen, and so Andrei used his blaster on the man’s left knee.
Then they came to an understanding.
FTC Advisory: Penguin/Berkley provided me with a copy of Mesmerized. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: This is a book I seriously think you should read.
Opening Sentence: “Sir, you can’t go in there!”
The Review:
I don’t know what to say about this one, how much to tell you, the things you need to know that will make you want to read this book. But what I do know is how I want you to feel about this book. I want you to go read it.
This series takes place well into our future, during a time when we’ve apparently figured out the whole space travel thing and have been settled on other planets in other places for quite a long time. Here, we have taken these places and split them into two groups, The Federation — the “good guys” and the Imperium — the “bad guys”. These two are on opposite sides of an impending war, and nether of them will stop before the other is gone.
Andrei is another super spy extraordinaire on a mission to eradicate evil from destroying his peace of mind. His mission, however, involves returning him to the ‘Verse of his birth to revive an old friendship with a family of mercenaries from his childhood. Upon the death of his last remaining family member, his mother, the Roundtrees became the family of his heart. So close was their relationship that he even sends them money to help out. But it was his relationship with the Roundtree sister, Piper, that remains today in his very soul.
Eleven years ago, Piper Roundtree’s first love, and first lover, disappeared from prison without a trace. She held the fear of his sentence to a work camp, or even death, in her heart until the day a packet of money arrives signed with his initial. And now those packets are her only remaining link to him, the only way she has of knowing he still lives. That is, until the day he arrives to save her and her family from an attack.
It appears the Imperium wants her to run some rather serious illegals across the Verses, and she has refused. Repeatedly! So, they turn towards brute force to get their way, and are turned back around by Andrei. Who, by the by, has returned to find out exactly what those illegals are. It is for this purpose that Andrei enlists the help of the Roundtree gang, and of Piper specifically. Well, Piper actually enlists herself, as Andrei would rather her stay home safe.
The pair play a part in uncovering an evil plot that will cost many lives and create much chaos. And in the process, discover that their young love was indeed true love, over and over again.
I like this book’s hero more than I liked the last one. I felt for him more, the heartbreak a bit worse. I just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket to keep him safe…wouldn’t mind joining him in that blanket, though. *wink* Overall, this is a book I seriously think you guys should read.
Notable Scene:
He shed her as he left, not wanting any part of her to be sullied by what he’d be dealing with. Moving silently, steadily and down toward the part of town where law and order were a long distant memory. Where murder was common, fights like communion. He moved, letting it all roll off him, slicing through the crowds, barely noticed.
His quarry lay in an establishment full of the worst society had to offer. As such, he had the information he needed within a few minutes and headed out again.
He climbed the exterior fire stairs to a one-room, coldwater flat above a whorehouse. Inside it was the man who’d been trading credits for Imperialist access to the Waystation.
Andrei dropped to the floor and shook his head at the man who rose and made toward the door. The man didn’t listen, and so Andrei used his blaster on the man’s left knee.
Then they came to an understanding.
FTC Advisory: Penguin/Berkley provided me with a copy of Mesmerized. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
April 5, 2011
Mesmerized by Lauren Dane
Paranormal Romance - April 5th, 2011
4 ½ stars
Mesmerized is Lauren Dane's third erotic futuristic which is part of the Federation series. It involves the mysterious Phantom Corps. The Phantom Coprs are a special group of elite soldiers that work in very dangers situations against the evil and domineering Imperial regime. Although connected to the prior two novels it can be easily be read by itself.
As a member of the Phantom Corps, Andrei Solace has finally found purpose. He was poor and heading for trouble until they took him under their wing and used that energy to shape an elite soldier. Now his past is catching up with him as he is asked to use his old contacts to discover what the Imperial rule is doing on his home planet. But to do so forces him to see old friends and a lover he can't forget.
Piper and the rest of her band of mercenaries have built a small village in the desert. But the Imperial army has been pressuring them to cargo a mysterious load. She knows there is something sinister about this job and refuses them. Soon they find themselves under attack by the angry Imperials when her old flame Andrei mysteriously appears and offers them aid. Although she has not seen him in years Piper finds herself falling for Andrei again. When he reveals his secret mission, she vows, this time, she will not let him leave without her.
Although Undercover is my favorite in the series, Mesmerized is a close second. As usual the writing is super steamy and I liked the unfinished business between the two main characters. Piper has some military training and has a strong personality. She doesn't let Andrei cower her and refuses to be left behind again. They are well matched as Piper can definitely keep up with Andrei on every level! Andrei is a bit more of an enigma and holds his feelings close. If I have one quibble it is to wonder how he could have left Piper in the first place! But I liked how he slowly sees how much Piper steadies him and is necessary to his well-being. He is also alpha enough and confident enough in himself that he is proud of her self-sufficiency. I liked how he accepts her as an equal partner and surrenders to her when he realizes she won't let him leave without her.
The Phantom Corps rocks. I can't wait to more of their members to fall in love. Sexy and exciting to read, this a story that futuristic fans will be guaranteed to enjoy.
Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
Paranormal Romance - April 5th, 2011
4 ½ stars
Mesmerized is Lauren Dane's third erotic futuristic which is part of the Federation series. It involves the mysterious Phantom Corps. The Phantom Coprs are a special group of elite soldiers that work in very dangers situations against the evil and domineering Imperial regime. Although connected to the prior two novels it can be easily be read by itself.
As a member of the Phantom Corps, Andrei Solace has finally found purpose. He was poor and heading for trouble until they took him under their wing and used that energy to shape an elite soldier. Now his past is catching up with him as he is asked to use his old contacts to discover what the Imperial rule is doing on his home planet. But to do so forces him to see old friends and a lover he can't forget.
Piper and the rest of her band of mercenaries have built a small village in the desert. But the Imperial army has been pressuring them to cargo a mysterious load. She knows there is something sinister about this job and refuses them. Soon they find themselves under attack by the angry Imperials when her old flame Andrei mysteriously appears and offers them aid. Although she has not seen him in years Piper finds herself falling for Andrei again. When he reveals his secret mission, she vows, this time, she will not let him leave without her.
Although Undercover is my favorite in the series, Mesmerized is a close second. As usual the writing is super steamy and I liked the unfinished business between the two main characters. Piper has some military training and has a strong personality. She doesn't let Andrei cower her and refuses to be left behind again. They are well matched as Piper can definitely keep up with Andrei on every level! Andrei is a bit more of an enigma and holds his feelings close. If I have one quibble it is to wonder how he could have left Piper in the first place! But I liked how he slowly sees how much Piper steadies him and is necessary to his well-being. He is also alpha enough and confident enough in himself that he is proud of her self-sufficiency. I liked how he accepts her as an equal partner and surrenders to her when he realizes she won't let him leave without her.
The Phantom Corps rocks. I can't wait to more of their members to fall in love. Sexy and exciting to read, this a story that futuristic fans will be guaranteed to enjoy.
Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
December 14, 2010
I had the privilege of reading an ARC of Lauren Dane's Mesmerized. Of all the Federation Chronicles 'verse books written by Lauren Dane, Relentless was my favorite...until now.
We met a hottie named Andrei Solace in the previous Phantom Corps novel, Insatiable. Mesmerized is Andrei's story.
This man is emotionally deep. We already know he's a bad ass, but there's so much more to Andrei. I love the way the author peels back the layers and exposes his strengths and vulnerabilities a bit at a time.
The heroine, Piper Roundtree, is a hoot. She's sassy (not bitchy), stubborn and determined to protect those she loves. Piper is an awesome match for Andrei, both in and out of bed. Actually she reminds me of...me *cough cough*! Snarky, smart, yet willing to learn as her role in Andrei's life becomes more defined and complicated.
Also, I love that Lauren keeps true to one of the things she does best - showing family ties. The relationships make sense, feel 'true', and the boundaries are clear.
The romance is sizzling, not too much, not too little. This book made me laugh out loud (there's a certain scene where the hero and heroine are talking and Piper is showing out in a good way. I laughed my ass off!). It made me want to cry as I watched the main characters grow, as well as deal with heart wrenching losses. And it pissed me off as I watched all the cast work their way through deadly situations together. I wanted to climb into the book and kick the bad guys myself.
The world is so vibrant and the characters so well written, it engaged my emotions, my senses, even my conscience.
This is a damn good book!
Undercover Relentless Insatiable (Federation Chronicles, #3)
We met a hottie named Andrei Solace in the previous Phantom Corps novel, Insatiable. Mesmerized is Andrei's story.
This man is emotionally deep. We already know he's a bad ass, but there's so much more to Andrei. I love the way the author peels back the layers and exposes his strengths and vulnerabilities a bit at a time.
The heroine, Piper Roundtree, is a hoot. She's sassy (not bitchy), stubborn and determined to protect those she loves. Piper is an awesome match for Andrei, both in and out of bed. Actually she reminds me of...me *cough cough*! Snarky, smart, yet willing to learn as her role in Andrei's life becomes more defined and complicated.
Also, I love that Lauren keeps true to one of the things she does best - showing family ties. The relationships make sense, feel 'true', and the boundaries are clear.
The romance is sizzling, not too much, not too little. This book made me laugh out loud (there's a certain scene where the hero and heroine are talking and Piper is showing out in a good way. I laughed my ass off!). It made me want to cry as I watched the main characters grow, as well as deal with heart wrenching losses. And it pissed me off as I watched all the cast work their way through deadly situations together. I wanted to climb into the book and kick the bad guys myself.
The world is so vibrant and the characters so well written, it engaged my emotions, my senses, even my conscience.
This is a damn good book!
Undercover Relentless Insatiable (Federation Chronicles, #3)
August 7, 2011
The writing in Mesmerized is pretty solid. I was really impressed with the fact that there was so much showing instead of telling, despite the fact that there was quite a bit of back history between the hero and heroine.
Where things went from 5 stars to 3 were when, about 2/3 of the way in, I began to get this sense that there just wasn't enough movement in the story's tension itself. Remember those graphs we had to draw in school, reflecting the plot development / narrative tension in a story? The one I'd draw for Mesmerized was a very gentle slope. For a story that's supposed to take place during so much political upheaval and war, this was especially disappointing. There wasn't really any real relationship conflict - what was there was lukewarm at best (Andrei's low self-esteem about being a stealthy military special ops dude and killing people sometimes, paired with Piper's "spunkiness" that bordered on obnoxious when it came to their lifelong soul-matey "bond" was about all the "conflict" we got). As for the non-romantic parts, there's all this apparent danger and they keep going out on dangerous missions, and yet they all end pretty much smoothly. No one gets captured, and what wounds there are are quickly healed. Frankly, the death at the end seemed almost forced, as if to make up for this unrealistic lack of casualties or tension, both in the story's world and in the plot of the book.
Honestly, I think Mesmerized would have been better as a novella. I really did like the main couple, their chemistry (and their sex!) was fierce and hot, and the non-romance plot was a good backdrop for these two. It just felt like, halfway through, the story started trying to be something more than was originally intended. I'd give a 3.75 rating total.
Where things went from 5 stars to 3 were when, about 2/3 of the way in, I began to get this sense that there just wasn't enough movement in the story's tension itself. Remember those graphs we had to draw in school, reflecting the plot development / narrative tension in a story? The one I'd draw for Mesmerized was a very gentle slope. For a story that's supposed to take place during so much political upheaval and war, this was especially disappointing. There wasn't really any real relationship conflict - what was there was lukewarm at best (Andrei's low self-esteem about being a stealthy military special ops dude and killing people sometimes, paired with Piper's "spunkiness" that bordered on obnoxious when it came to their lifelong soul-matey "bond" was about all the "conflict" we got). As for the non-romantic parts, there's all this apparent danger and they keep going out on dangerous missions, and yet they all end pretty much smoothly. No one gets captured, and what wounds there are are quickly healed. Frankly, the death at the end seemed almost forced, as if to make up for this unrealistic lack of casualties or tension, both in the story's world and in the plot of the book.
Honestly, I think Mesmerized would have been better as a novella. I really did like the main couple, their chemistry (and their sex!) was fierce and hot, and the non-romance plot was a good backdrop for these two. It just felt like, halfway through, the story started trying to be something more than was originally intended. I'd give a 3.75 rating total.
May 23, 2011
I was starting to loose hope with the Federation/Phantom corps series after the last couple of Federation ones. The first one was my favourite one and it still is my favourite. However, Mesmerized is a close second. I love Andrei. I wasn't looking forward to his story as he was such a taciturn character in all the previous sightings. In his book, we learn about his past. Each new tidbit of his past makes him more admirable and lovable. The way he changed his life when he was given an opportunity and then took it upon himself to do the same for others won my heart. His interaction with Piper amused me to no end. Piper is a little spitfire. I like her. I like how she's so true to herself and able to ask for what she wants. She doesn't play games or be coy. What you see is what you get - my kind of gal. Their past history together brought richness into their rekindled love.
While this is all going on, their world is literally being torn apart by weapons of mass destruction. The ease in which Piper glides into the Phantom corps is the only unrealistic part in this story. Still, it does tie all the lose ends and makes for a lovely happily ever after story. I didn't mark this as an erotic book even though the sex is nice and hot. I left the categorization off because it wasn't the main focus of the story, just a very juicy side dish. The set up for the next story looks to be pretty good with perhaps a menage. I hope it is because Ms. Dane writes some very hot menage. I hope she does it super kinky!
While this is all going on, their world is literally being torn apart by weapons of mass destruction. The ease in which Piper glides into the Phantom corps is the only unrealistic part in this story. Still, it does tie all the lose ends and makes for a lovely happily ever after story. I didn't mark this as an erotic book even though the sex is nice and hot. I left the categorization off because it wasn't the main focus of the story, just a very juicy side dish. The set up for the next story looks to be pretty good with perhaps a menage. I hope it is because Ms. Dane writes some very hot menage. I hope she does it super kinky!
March 5, 2012
A world of 'verses, connected by portals... The Roundtree family left earth, devasted by war for Asphodel. Asphodel is a desertlike world, with sand storms... and they are making a place for themselves... a compound with other families, with a greenhouse that provides for most their need, and a business of cargo running.
Andrei - grew up on the streets, wild, angry, stepping over the law line... except with Piper; Piper eased his anger, he felt peace... they were lovers. At 19, in jail, Wilhelm Ellis, Comandante of Federation Military Crops offers him a way out - requiring him to leave all behind - and he does.
10 years later, the universe is on the brink of war. and Andrei is sent to Asphodel to determine what there interests the Imperialists. And he goes to the Roundtree complex - getting there just as they are repelling the Imperialists who are trying to force Piper into running a cargo for them... and he steps in to snipe out a few, to chase them away... And they reconnect - mentally, emotionally, ideally, physically... and he uses her contacts, and she joins him... and between them they find the mineral the Imperialists are using in creating of a portal destroyer, and when the Imperialists try to use their destroyer, they are instrumental in restoring the portal...
and Piper chooses Andrei - to partner with him in his work and in his life... ahhhh
Andrei - grew up on the streets, wild, angry, stepping over the law line... except with Piper; Piper eased his anger, he felt peace... they were lovers. At 19, in jail, Wilhelm Ellis, Comandante of Federation Military Crops offers him a way out - requiring him to leave all behind - and he does.
10 years later, the universe is on the brink of war. and Andrei is sent to Asphodel to determine what there interests the Imperialists. And he goes to the Roundtree complex - getting there just as they are repelling the Imperialists who are trying to force Piper into running a cargo for them... and he steps in to snipe out a few, to chase them away... And they reconnect - mentally, emotionally, ideally, physically... and he uses her contacts, and she joins him... and between them they find the mineral the Imperialists are using in creating of a portal destroyer, and when the Imperialists try to use their destroyer, they are instrumental in restoring the portal...
and Piper chooses Andrei - to partner with him in his work and in his life... ahhhh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2011
Andrei Solace delivers death on silent feet as an assassin for the Phantom Corps. Mercenary Piper Roundtree thought she was over him. But against the backdrop of an impending war, their passion is rekindled. Now the lovers must join forces- in more ways than one-to save the Known Universe before the Imperialist enemy hurls it into irreversible chaos..
So reading these out of order has not changed my view that you can read them in order or out of order. This book was amazing. I have to say that having read ahead and going backwards really leaves for the imagination because it allows me to see who they were and how they got there leading up to the point where I started.
Andrei is hot and he is closed off because that is the only way he knows how to function until he is sent to the one place that can unravel him.
Every hero needs that. They need to be brought back down from where they were.
I loved Piper because as she found out more about Andrei she didn't get jealous or upset she welcomed it with the attitude it happened before me and never again.
So reading these out of order has not changed my view that you can read them in order or out of order. This book was amazing. I have to say that having read ahead and going backwards really leaves for the imagination because it allows me to see who they were and how they got there leading up to the point where I started.
Andrei is hot and he is closed off because that is the only way he knows how to function until he is sent to the one place that can unravel him.
Every hero needs that. They need to be brought back down from where they were.
I loved Piper because as she found out more about Andrei she didn't get jealous or upset she welcomed it with the attitude it happened before me and never again.
January 18, 2012
Andrei was such an enigma in the last book, I was excited to read more about him in this one. It was interesting to read about his background and how Elis basically saved him. He has really come a long way from then. I loved how Andrei kept his roots in his mind by sending credits back home all these years, even if he couldn't see those he loved.
I loved how Piper and Andrei were childhood sweethearts. Piper mentioned a couple of times how she claimed Andrei when she was 8, how cute is that. She was more than a match for for Andrei and the rest of those in the Corps. She found a way to work her way in to work with Andrei on a temporary basis, but her request for permanent was very ballsy!
I did get tired of how Andrei thought he wasn't worth anything, that he was a piece of crap. I was glad to see Piper didn't let him wallow too much.
With the war heating up and the clues for the next book, I can't wait to get my hands on it!
I loved how Piper and Andrei were childhood sweethearts. Piper mentioned a couple of times how she claimed Andrei when she was 8, how cute is that. She was more than a match for for Andrei and the rest of those in the Corps. She found a way to work her way in to work with Andrei on a temporary basis, but her request for permanent was very ballsy!
I did get tired of how Andrei thought he wasn't worth anything, that he was a piece of crap. I was glad to see Piper didn't let him wallow too much.
With the war heating up and the clues for the next book, I can't wait to get my hands on it!
May 8, 2011
Not as 'hot' as some of the previous novels in this series, but a good story nevertheless.
Dane keeps her world-build in place, and skates over any high-tech description, so it's easy to forget this is a space-opera story.
Andrei is the strong-silent-hero still in love with Piper Roundtrees whom he left (but not because he wanted to) 11 years previously. Piper has always loved Andrei Solace, and their separation has made her grow in strength and determination.
This is the story of them getting together again, even under the threat of universal war.
A good, easy read.
Dane keeps her world-build in place, and skates over any high-tech description, so it's easy to forget this is a space-opera story.
Andrei is the strong-silent-hero still in love with Piper Roundtrees whom he left (but not because he wanted to) 11 years previously. Piper has always loved Andrei Solace, and their separation has made her grow in strength and determination.
This is the story of them getting together again, even under the threat of universal war.
A good, easy read.
March 29, 2012
"... Ms. Dane has a way of saturating the smexy in beyond satisfying ways....the characters are well developed and believable, and the story is very entertaining. Mesmerized is a super smexy futuristic romance that will have you clamoring for more. Ms. Dane is a must-read for me along with the rest of the Phantom Corps series!..."
Review completed for Just Erotic Romance Reviews (JERR) - Please visit their site for the full review. Book provided by JERR.
http://bit.ly/GY0SdT
Review completed for Just Erotic Romance Reviews (JERR) - Please visit their site for the full review. Book provided by JERR.
http://bit.ly/GY0SdT
April 2, 2011
Andrei Solace and Piper Roundtree's book
In the title on Goodreads it reads "Mesmerized (Phantom Corp#2). Not entirely sure why because this is the 4th book. There may be a reason but in case anyone is interested let me list the books in order on my review site.
http://anotherlookbookreviews.blogspo...
In the title on Goodreads it reads "Mesmerized (Phantom Corp#2). Not entirely sure why because this is the 4th book. There may be a reason but in case anyone is interested let me list the books in order on my review site.
http://anotherlookbookreviews.blogspo...
March 10, 2013
So boring. The main heroine, Piper, was so clingy in her relationship with Andrei, that I felt suffocated. Then there's Andrei, who uses the most gag worthy lines when he's sleeping with Piper. Lauren has been pretty much hit and miss with this series, so I plan to read on to book three, Captivated.
September 3, 2011
I really like Dane's storytelling and I'm enjoying her Federation world, but this one didn't grab me like the Federation Chronicles series. Still I’m looking forward to the next book in this Phantom Corps series.
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